Tampa’s Expert in Abdomen Liposuction

Liposuction of the abdomen, tummy, belly, or stomach is our most popular procedure at our Tampa office. Almost 60% of patients who come to us wish to have a flatter stomach or belly. Most patients have tried diets or exercise to get rid of their tummy bulge but have not been fully successful. Even if they have been able to reduce the size, there is often still a bulge on the lower abdomen. It is hard to flatten these bulges with just diet and exercise alone because our body doesn’t just burn the fat from this undesirable area. It burns fat from all over the body in a very spread out fashion.

Doing liposuction of the belly is a sure way to get rid of that bulge because we are targeting it specifically and can physically take away most of that fat. This will leave you with a flatter, sexier tummy in a few short hours. We treat all types of patients from skinny patients with a small bump, to large patients with a large belly bulge and hang. Dr. Su is an expert and specializes in only liposuction. He has learned secrets of liposuction on the tummy that enables him to achieve significant skin tightening which other doctors have no clue about. Dr. Su’s stomach liposuction results are the best in the Tampa Bay area. Don’t take our word for it, just visit our photo gallery to see!

How is Liposuction Surgery of the Tummy Done?

Although there are many ways to do liposuction, it is easier to divide the two categories into awake or asleep liposuction. Awake liposuction is done using the local anesthetic lidocaine. Asleep liposuction is done under general anesthesia where a patient is placed on a ventilator.

At Artistic Lipo, we perform only awake liposuction using a sculpting instrument known as a cannula. Compared to surgeons doing asleep liposuction who use large cannulas, we use only microcannulas which are smaller versions of these sculpting instruments. The microcannulas cause less trauma, and therefore less bruising and soreness afterwards. Of course this means quicker recovery also.

Don’t be confused by what you have heard about different types of liposuction that incorporate lasers, ultrasonic energy, or radiofrequency. The names may sound exciting such as Smart Lipo, Vaser Lipo, or Aqua Lipo. However, these technologies add very little to the outcome of a liposuction procedure. The companies will add hype to make them sound appealing. Dr. Su has owned and used most of these technologies early in his career and does not believe they create better results. In some cases they can cause burns and other adverse problems.

Interactive Liposuction of the Abdomen

Dr. Su has pioneered his own methods for liposuction and utilizes what he calls Interactive Liposuction. In the abdomen this means that you as the patient will be actively participating in to help create you own best results. During our abdominal liposuction you will be asked to tense your abdomen muscles in a “crunch” to create a firm surface which the fat can be pressed against to hold steady during the sculpting. The stomach muscle wall will also be easier to feel when it is tensed versus soft and imperceptible when someone is asleep. This extra level of control and feel is what gives Dr. Su a huge advantage when it comes to making your tummy as small as possible and as smooth as possible.

The other major advantage to having a patient awake and participating is to accurately liposuction a bulge or fold of fat. When a patient lies down any belly bulge or roll immediately flattens with gravity hiding it from a surgeon’s view. Even the most skilled surgeon will not be able to accurately judge when this bulge has been fully flattened, except by seeing the patient in an upright position with gravity compressing the bulge downward. Dr. Su uses the advantage of standing a patient periodically during the abdomen surgery to assess how much more needs to be done. This gives us tremendously better tummy liposuction outcomes.

Using Interactive Liposuction allows Dr. Su to commonly remove more than 90% of fat versus the industry average of about 50%. Through removing almost all the fat from tummy bulges or hangs, Dr. Su is able to cause these features to retract and the skin to tighten like no other surgeon is able. In many patients, the skin retracts so much that it appears a tummy tuck was performed rather than just liposuction alone. This is a skill that Dr. Su has honed over the years and has lectured to hundreds of liposuction surgeons at different cosmetic surgery society meetings. Dr. Su also teaches this method of Interactive Liposuction to other physicians.

Advanced Abdomen Liposuction Sculpting

Because of Dr. Su’s advanced techniques and methods he is able to remove fat more completely and accurately. This has led to the development of breakthroughs in liposuction that leaves other surgeons wondering how the results were created. In the abdomen there are two distinct areas where Dr. Su’s work is unique. These are described below.

Tummy Tuck Lipo

Most surgeon would be very quick to recommend a tummy tuck on patients with a hang on their lower abdomen. This hang in medical terms is known as a pannus or panniculus. The more hang that there is means the more excess skin that has to tighten to retract completely. Dr. Su has developed a technique for removing fat so completely that the pannus actually pulls up about 70% or more, sometimes fully. This goes against what most people have heard, that skin will hang more. Even other liposuction surgeon have not believed this. We invite you to read more and see photos in our Before and After gallery (Tummy Tuck Lipo).

High Definition – Six Pack Abs – Liposuction of the Abdomen

One trend that has surfaced in liposuction over the past few years is that some surgeons are creating the look of six pack abs with liposuction and fat transfer. These surgeons are using special etching techniques and placing fat under the muscle to raise the muscle bundles. The results while amazing in some cases, can be very artificial looking in others where there is a six pack sitting on the stomach of an otherwise out of shape man, or the six pack does not move naturally with the rest of the body.

Dr. Su’s high definition abdomens, are a result of sculpting very completely and very close to the skin and muscle which allows the muscles to be seen naturally. When a man or woman tenses their muscle the six can be seen, but disappears naturally when the muscle is relaxed. You won’t see six packs in many men or women after liposuction because there is usually 50% of the fat left behind. To find out more go to our (High Definition Abdomen page).

Before and After Abdomen Liposuction Photos

When choosing a surgeon to perform your belly liposuction you need to be very careful. Any surgeon will be able to remove some of your fat. The question should be, “how completely?”, “how smoothly?”, “how shapely?”. You don’t want to have to go through a second procedure because you could’nt see the results, or you have lumpy bumpy results. We treat about 30% of our tummy liposuction patients for mistakes that other surgeons created. Always look at lots of before and after images until you are sure that the results look great! Don’t settle for images that are hard to see details on. Look at how smooth that belly is afterward. If a surgeon doesn’t have many photos that is also a red flag that they are not confident in their work, or have not done much.

We are very proud of our stomach and belly liposuction results as any good liposuction surgeon should be. We want you see our before and after gallery and pick over it with scrutiny and feel free to ask any questions. This should be the same with any good cosmetic surgeon.

Who is a good candidate for Stomach Liposuction?

Liposuction on the stomach will potentially help any person who has fat above the muscle wall. It is fairly easy to establish if the stomach fat is removeable by grabbing it in your hand. If your stomach feels hard to the touch and you cannot grab the fat then it is most likely below the muscle despite having a outward belly protrusion.

Even very large tummies with large hangs can be improved with liposuction. Dr. Su is an expert who performs liposuction on the most difficulty tummies which most doctors refuse to treat. It is amazing that he is able to get the skin to tighten and retract tremendously in these patients also.

Patient’s wishing to see a six pack in their abs also have a good chance of succeeding if they have strong abs with good muscle ridges and definition under the fat. We see six packs that appear in both men and women after liposuction of the abdominal fat because our sculpting is so complete. In other offices where half of the fat is left behind, this would not be possible.

What is the recovery for Tummy liposuction?

The recovery for tummy liposuction involves several days of significant soreness. Usually there is only mild bruising. We do not advise any bed rest, but taking it easy at home is recommended for a few days. After this there will still be tenderness for several weeks. Most patients can be back to even their abdominal workouts by 3 weeks out. Swelling in the abdomen is to be expected, but this will only mildly diminish your visible results temporarily. It takes 3 to 5 months for most patients to look their best. Healing in the tissues will continue for up to a year.

Tummy Liposuction vs Tummy Tuck

Many patients seen by Dr. Su for consulation of their stomach are candidates for either a tummy tuck or liposuction. These are the patients that have just a little to a moderate amount of looseness, or they have a hang on their lower tummy. Dr. Su can create a great result for these patients, however, they may have a small amount of wrinkles above their belly button and at the lower edge of the abdomen. Many patients are happier to have some wrinkles than to have a horizontal scar completely across the bottom of their belly. Others opt for liposuction instead of a tuck because they do not wish to risk going under general anesthesia and don’t want the extended recovery and downtime.

Patients with a very large hang of skin on their lower abdomen, and those with very wrinkly skin prior to liposuction are probably better candidates for a tummy tuck/ abdomenoplasty instead of lipo. Also those patients who are hoping to get back into a bikini and don’t want any visible wrinkles should consider aabdomenoplasty first.

What are Non Surgical Alternatives for Stomach Liposuction

Many patients would like to have a non surgical alternative to abdomen liposuction. These days there are many options such as Cool Sculpting, I-Lipo, Vaser Ultrasound, Cavitation Lipo, etc. All of these technologies may help reduce some fat in the abdomen. However, none of them can truly sculpt, which implies fine contouring. The effectiveness of most of these technologies is in the 20% range of reduction compared to 80-90% reduction with tummy lipo.

If you are looking for a mild improvement only and are really scared to have a minimally invasive surgery such as liposuction, then you may want to look into one of these alternatives. But then, it would probably better to just hold off from a desert now and again.

Cost of Tummy Liposuction Tampa

Surgeons in the Tampa Bay area charge anywhere from $2500 to $6000 for lipo of the stomach area. There is a big range because of what is being performed. One of the Groupondoctors only charges $2000 but his results are almost imperceptible and he spends very little time compared to a more complete surgeon. It takes about 3 to 4 hours to do a very complete sculpting of 90% by Dr. Su. Or you can go to a surgeon who spends 2 hours but removes only 50%. The problem is that no surgeon is going to openly tell you that they are going to remove 50%. Instead they will likely tell you “you are going to look great” and that’s it. Look at before and after photos to see the quality of what a surgeon is creating.

There is also a big difference in price in our practice based on size and complexity. This means that if the abdomen is large and has folds, this will take much more effort than a small tummy that is smooth and has good skin. Our price can vary with a full tummy from approximately $4000 to $7000. This is higher than the average, but the results are way beyond the average! Do you want the best or the cheapest?

Complications of Stomach Liposuction

Fortunately true medical complications are a rarity with abdominal liposuction at Artistic Lipo. There are rare infections, but otherwise, no blood clots and no significant bleeding. We are proud to say that in over 3000 patients, only one had to have one unit of blood transfused.

The most common complications for abdominal lipois irregularities. Dr. Su fixes many major problems by other surgeons. However, we are not perfect and Dr. Su being a perfectionist has done many minor touch ups for patients which is not a uncommon thing. Any surgeon who says they never have to do touch ups is one that really does not care about small details or does not have the ability to correct them.

Weight Loss and Abdomen Liposuction

Weight loss is a important factor for most patient that come to our office. Since more than half our patients would fall into a obese category, they can certainly benefit from weight loss. Liposuction by Dr. Su helps an obese patient establish a shapelier figure. Even a rounded obese patient can achieve a slimming of abdomen and waist giving more of a hour glass shape. Dr. Su cannot make an obese patient “skinny” only shapelier. However, weight loss can get that patient closer to their goal of not being obese any more.

Weight loss is great for patients after liposuction in that order. Dr. Su does not recommend a patient try to lose a lot of weight just prior to lipo. Instead, the weight should be stable or going down before having lipo, not going up.

Dr. Cesar Lara is the most experienced weight loss physician in Tampa Bay and is who we recommend. He is not only effective, but stands out because of his dedication to all aspects of the patients well being. This means that you won’t be put on a pill and sent home with minimal support. You will have a physician network that will address all the intangible aspects of weight management that will help you succeed!